Expert Analysis

• Upholding Energy Efficiency Rules If DOE Eases Enforcement

  

  Despite recent moves by the Energy Department and Congress to limit energy efficiency enforcement, companies should maintain current efficiency standards and testing procedures lest they risk state or private action, enforcement lookbacks during future administrations, truth-in-advertising complaints and more, say attorneys at HWG.

• New Suits Raise Stakes After 7th Circ. 'Zero Sugar' Ruling

  

  The Seventh Circuit's recent ruling in Franco v. Chobani that "zero sugar" claims on allulose-sweetened products are not preempted has sparked a wave of lawsuits, and companies can no longer assume that federal allulose guidance is a safe harbor, say attorneys at Bradley Arant.

• DOJ-Agri Stats Settlement Offers Key Benchmarking Lessons

  

  A Minnesota federal court's recent approval of the Agri Stats settlement marks a significant milestone as it's the most granular U.S. Justice Department guidance on permissible competitor benchmarking since the 2023 withdrawal of the safety zone, lending predictability for companies in data-pooling arrangements, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

• Why Importers Should Assess IEEPA Refund Claims Now

  

  Businesses that wait for direction from U.S. Customs and Border Protection or the courts before seeking refunds of their finally liquidated International Economic Emergency Procedure Act duties in court may find them out of reach as the earliest potential limitation deadlines are approaching, says Samuel Finkelstein at LMD Trade Law.

• FTC Proposal Puts Personalized Pricing On Notice

  

  The Federal Trade Commission’s recent proposed policy statement on undisclosed personalized pricing signals the potential for harm when business practices diverge from consumer expectations, indicating a need to disclose not only data usage, but also how it influences the prices consumers see, says Linda Goldstein at CM Law.

• Testing AI's Promise For Large-Scale Document Review

  

  Our document-review comparison of attorneys' responsiveness and issue coding decisions versus predictions generated by artificial intelligence across 1,600 documents suggests that these tools can offer a reasonable and reliable basis for improved discovery workflows, provided lawyers understand where guardrails are needed, say attorneys at Redgrave.

• AG Watch: Va. Vape Product Regulations Enter A New Phase

  

  Virginia's new vape enforcement framework carries important implications related to product eligibility and certification requirements for businesses operating in the marketplace, representing the culmination of several years of legislative action, regulatory development, litigation and interagency planning, says Chuck Slemp at Cozen O'Connor.

• AI Meeting Recaps Pose New Discovery And Privilege Risks

  

  The New York City Bar Association’s recent ethics opinion, cautioning attorneys not to record nonclient conversations with artificial intelligence tools, reflects an emerging view that AI meeting recaps are now a distinct business record category, meaning counsel should set meeting-level controls and apply framework-level updates, says William Wright at Faegre Drinker.

• Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: September Lessons

  

  In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses six recent rulings involving pecuniary loss in false price comparison advertising, privity in an insurance fee class, antitrust standing, immigration class representatives, retirement beneficiary class commonality, and Rule 23(f) appeals in Fair Labor Standards Act claims.

• An Economic Approach Could Curb Broad Antitrust Classes

  

  A Minnesota federal court's recent certification decision reflects a familiar antitrust pattern of inefficiently broad class certification even when the alleged conspiracy's effect is likely to vary significantly across buyers, but utilizing an economic interpretation of predominance would enhance efficiency by leading to narrower classes, says Sean Durkin at Charles River.

• FTC Push May Create Dual Origin-Claim Risks For Contractors

  

  Recent Federal Trade Commission actions involving Made in USA advertising requirements offer a preview of enforcement themes that may impose dual compliance burdens on government contractors that are also subject to Federal Acquisition Regulation Buy American restrictions, says Amy Hoang at Seyfarth.

• Series

  Playing Bid Whist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  As a child, I viewed bid whist as a family tradition and a source of friendly card game competition, but as a lawyer, I see it as a tool that has helped me cultivate skills like communication, teamwork, risk assessment and composure, says Keyonn Pope at Riley Safer.

• What Greek Tragedy Teaches About Mediating AI Disputes

  

  While ancient Greek writers could not have anticipated modern arbitration, their tragic plays illustrate new and familiar questions for mediators dealing with artificial intelligence disputes, including the functional differences between adjudication and resolution, says Giuseppe De Palo at JAMS.

• Tracking Trends In State-Level Regulatory Enforcement

  

  State-level enforcement now increasingly involves antitrust, artificial intelligence and data privacy issues, and the key for organizations to reducing risk is having the ability to respond across governance, public affairs, discovery and remediation in multiple states simultaneously, say consultants at FTI Consulting.

• And Now A Word From The Panel: Accessing Key MDL Data

  

  As the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation convenes for its September hearing session, it is useful to examine the treasure trove of historical and statistical information about MDLs past and present that the panel makes available to the public on its own website, says Alan Rothman at Sidley Austin.